every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

well i'm back at northwestern. and it's wonderful. i love seeing my friends, the professors, the campus in general. it's weird to think i'm a senior- i always thought i'd be wiser and more confident in what i'd be doing with the rest of my life at this point. instead, i recently signed up to take golf as a class and i'm watching 'over the hedge' in my room :)

it was my last time packing my car up and moving up here, which is both exciting and depressing. i thought back to when i was a freshman and moved into stegenga hall, room 137 :) most of my family came, i was super excited and also extremely nervous. i was about to become an official college athlete, which made me feel like i was the coolest person ever. its crazy how things have changed. i now know i'm not that cool, and i'm not a college athlete. i've had quite a few people ask me already if i was playing volleyball this year. for those of you who don't know... no, i'm not. i'm on campus early because i'm part of the campus ministry team. which, by the way, is going awesome. its weird not being part of the volleyball team though. i still believe that God called me to come to northwestern, but i wonder what His plans were for me once i got here. did He always intend for me to play volleyball for 3 years and then be part of CMT? i really feel like He opened these doors for me to be where i am today, but was this what He always wanted to see happen?

i really love everyone on CMT. they're not people i would typically interact with or become friends with on campus, but this past week has been absolutely great with getting to know them. i've learned a lot about myself and the type of leader i am, as well as how i work with other people. i'm not gonna lie, i still get discouraged sometimes about who i am. do you ever feel as if you wish you had the personality of someone else? i know i sure do. but after doing some thinking and praying the other day, i was reminded of romans 12:4-8 "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." so its definitely been encouraging to hear that even though i'm not like sally [changed name], who is the girl that everyone loves to be around and talk with, i am still a vital part of the team and have my own purpose and personality.

on another note, i found out that northwestern will be sending a team to cary christian center over spring break. i really want to lead the team, but i'm not sure if it will work out since i'll be student teaching. but i would absolutely love to go back and see robert, care, ledora, dorsey, irma, etc. oh that would make me so happy :)

last thing: my sister [emily] had her son! his name is asher william and was born this afternoon. emily went through quite a bit and is still in some pain, though, so keep her in your prayers.

love God and love people.